2001 ram 1500 sport. Check engine light came on and the next day the Trans temp light came on and over drive turned off. Now I lost every gear except first and reverse after I did a Trans flush. After the long drive home in first gear I looked under the hood and there was Trans fluid on the frame looking like it came off the cooling line and there was hardly any fluid on the dipstick also and I'm guessing that there is a clog somewhere and is causing the Trans to over heat due to lack of flow and and a build up of pressure that caused fluid to leak out of the line on the bottom of the radiator... What do you think? And how can I fix this?
transmission
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Welcome to Allpar. If the 'ck eng' light came on and the battery hasn't been disconnected, there should be a fault code stored in the PCM. This code may help in diagnosis.
http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
The ATF cooler lines run to the radiator and the cooler may be plugged (with clutch debris?) and the pressure line may be leaking. It is generally better to replace the radiator rather than try to unclog the cooler, if this is what has happened.
You can run the lines to an external aftermarket cooler, but then you lose the fluid warming advantage of the radiator in cold weather. ATF at 10 degF pours like syrup. ATF+4 is a synthetic and although probably not mandatory for your 46RE, it offers superior flexibility with temperature and wear characteristics. The price of ATF+4 is a little more, but it has come down in recent years.
What was the condition of the old fluid? Was there debris in the bottom of the pan and the filter dirty?
I hope that it isn't too late for the transmission, but it sounds like it took a beating and if the rest of the truck is in good shape, it may be worth a rebuild, reman or good used unit.
http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
The ATF cooler lines run to the radiator and the cooler may be plugged (with clutch debris?) and the pressure line may be leaking. It is generally better to replace the radiator rather than try to unclog the cooler, if this is what has happened.
You can run the lines to an external aftermarket cooler, but then you lose the fluid warming advantage of the radiator in cold weather. ATF at 10 degF pours like syrup. ATF+4 is a synthetic and although probably not mandatory for your 46RE, it offers superior flexibility with temperature and wear characteristics. The price of ATF+4 is a little more, but it has come down in recent years.
What was the condition of the old fluid? Was there debris in the bottom of the pan and the filter dirty?
I hope that it isn't too late for the transmission, but it sounds like it took a beating and if the rest of the truck is in good shape, it may be worth a rebuild, reman or good used unit.
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